Although the present provincial government had all the necessary knowledge required to prevent the Mt. Polley environmental disaster from ever happening, Imperial Metals, along with the government, avoided their adult responsibilities and consciences.

In essence their cutbacks in mine investigations also said “too bad, so sad” for the First Nations along with residents and their property values, employees, businesses, plant life, lake, creek and wild life and as always, we the taxpayers.

I do not call this working “in the public interest”. I call this working “in the corporate interest.”

And now the provincial government proposes to overhaul the B.C. Society Act and spend their time using millions of our tax dollars, looking into 27,000 B.C. registered societies who may or may not be working “in the public interest”, which is not defined.

Included in the societies are environmental groups, which I have found to be working “in the public interest” to halt further climate change. It is well known, that the U.N. and climate scientists around the world deem it urgent to halt the rapid increase in fossil fuel use if this planet is to have a future which includes mankind. The amendments proposed by the provincial government to the B.C. Societies Act could be used to harass small groups that have very little funding and no lawyers. I see this move by the province as “working for corporate interests” and, as always, using our tax dollars.

Mark Carney, once Governor of Bank of Canada, now Governor of Bank of England, told a group of investors, ”The vast majority of fossil fuel reserves are unburnable”. He spoke of a “tragedy of horizons” which can be described by the U.S. Sec. of State in a Pentagon report : Climate change has the ability to “devastate homes, land and infrastructure”.

And it “may exacerbate water scarcity and lead to sharp increases in food costs.” Desperate people, water & food shortages, along with flooding, drought and fire could lead to terrorist activity as the social tensions grow. I call these warnings to be “in the public interest”.

Our provincial debt is $68 billion. The present provincial government will owe the natural gas producers well over a billion dollars in credits by year end while our public services continue to deteriorate.

I do not call this working ” in the public interest” and I am losing my patience as a taxpayer with paying the bills for the fossil fuel industry.

Our federal government gives the fossil fuel industry well over $20 billion dollars in tax exemptions yearly. The jobs are specialized, we won’t be getting them and we will be buying the jobs we do get locally through our tax money. Exactly how is this “in the public interest”?

What is the next perverse move this government and the federal government will be making “in the corporate interest?”

If our provincial and federal governments were not working “in the corporate interest” of the fossil fuel industries we could be well underway with geothermal energy.

B.C. alone has 170 hot springs and according to the experts, “lots of low hanging fruit” which we could begin to develop inexpensively. Compare that with the $8 to $15 billion for site C which many experts say “we do not need.”

How about jobs in retrofitting homes? How about solar and wind energy? Norway and Germany are so far ahead of us we look pathetic and they are not suffering folks!! We deserve to have our tax dollars working toward “the public interest”.

Now is not the time for despair. Don’t allow yourself to be disinterested in your future!

Take action, however small it may be. Find a petition to Help Save Our North Coast From Bulk Oil Tankers and sign it. Talk about it with friends and ask them to keep the jobs here in Canada. Tell them the Hecate Strait is the 4th most dangerous body of water in the world.

Each act will support the goal of helping our families have a future. Protect the fragility of the earth. Think what is right here.

And work “in the public interest” knowing most of your fellow citizens are with you!

Mt Layton Hotsprings

Comment by CEM on 17th January 2015Yes why is Bert Orleans allowed to let this wonderful asset to our area go to ruins. He bought for next to nothing and was to have a golf course which is now hay fields. This area is not great for growing good quality hay. Mt Layton is considered one the the best for minerals and heat. Greenhouses to this area would be a great asset, let alone the health benefits. This resource is greatly missed and it's a our doorstep.

Geothermal

Comment by Mary Ann Shannon on 17th December 2014170 Hot Springs, for more info, Google "Desmog Geothermal Offers Cheaper", Here is a brief extract from the report:

"Geothermal energy offers a low-cost, clean and viable alternative to the $8 billion Site C dam proposed for the Peace River, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA)

The report, Geothermal Energy: The Renewable and Cost Effective Alternative to Site C, estimates that geothermal power would ring in at about $73 per megawatt-hour (MWh). BC Hydro has estimated the cost of Site C at $83 per MWh. The report also says the proposed geothermal plants could be built for approximately $3.3 billion, less than half the cost of the Site C dam.

“Geothermal can be built as you need it, where you need it, and the capital costs are much lower,” CanGEA Chair Alison Thompson told a press conference in Victoria."

170 Hot springs

Comment by Vern on 16th December 2014Interesting that Hot springs are mentioned as we have a major Hot springs between Kitimat and Terrace that has been allowed to go to waste for years. Likely not hot enough to make power from but just think of the number of green houses it could support thus reducing the amount of energy it would take to grow food some place else and have to truck it in.